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This charming JRPG needs more time in the oven, but shows potential | Review - Knightingale

3K View2023-07-12

Knightingale

6.8

Pixel GraphicsStrategyTurn-basedJRPGSingleplayer

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Knightingale is an upcoming HD-2D RPG game with an adventurous story, engaging turn-based combat, and traditional gacha mechanics.

🟩Pros

+Beautiful soundtrack

+HD-2D graphics

+Flexible weapon and ability mechanics

+Skipping the story cutscene still gives you a text summary

🟥Cons

-Only runs in 16:9 aspect ratio; which doesn’t fit with the majority of mobile phones

-Still needs a lot more polish with bugs

Knightingale possesses the same allure as other JRPG games, boasting a beautiful soundtrack, turn-based combat, narrative-focused gameplay, Japanese voice acting, and an anime-inspired art style.

The story starts up a bit melodramatic and honestly nonsensical, involving three cursed pirates cursed upon stealing a treasure, but swiftly transitions to a more familiar narrative trope centered around Arthur, a young boy yearning to escape his ordinary life to become an Elven Knight. Accompanied by his friend Beth, acquired companions from the gacha system, and an Elf ally, they embark on a thrilling adventure.

The introduction sequence isn’t skippable, but after the tutorial ends, many of the cutscenes can now be skipped, and a short summary of the skipped parts will be shown, which is a welcome feature that allows players to remain updated on the narrative even if they choose to skip certain scenes.

Knightingale's HD-2D visuals bear resemblance to the art style of Octopath Traveler, but with cleaner and more cartoonish character details. However, I found that the chibi renditions of the characters don't accurately represent their anime counterparts. At times, the chibi characters appear quite feminine, despite the full versions exhibiting a more masculine appearance.

The gameplay revolves around forming a party of five combatants from the available heroes, progressing through the story, and encountering formidable opponents. The game offers a degree of openness, enabling players to explore towns, interact with NPCs, engage in trading, and partake in side activities like bulletin board or dungeon crawling.

While Knightingale developers have mentioned incorporating rogue-like elements, the only aspects that remotely resemble rogue-like gameplay are the dungeon crawling segments and the random rewards found in dungeon chests. There are no permadeath mechanics — which are the defining feature of rogue-likes — present in the game.

Battles in Knightingale are turn-based and occur in instanced battles upon encounters with enemy units. Characters can execute normal attacks or special moves using SP, which regenerate after each turn and persist in subsequent encounters. When confronting powerful monsters and bosses, the party's soul meter charges, allowing for the use of potent Soul attacks.

Through the use of different weapons or items, characters can assume various stances, altering their normal and special moves. This feature effectively ties a character's moveset to their equipped weapons, with two different weapons equipped at a time.

For instance, Arthur can transition between swordfighting and dagger wielding, Beth seamlessly shifts between healing and buffing, and Harris switches between melee and ranged attacks. The diverse weapon affinities found among the gacha heroes provide interesting gameplay possibilities. Some can transition from support to archery, while some seamlessly switch from sword fighting to being a healer.

The party formation system consists of two rows: the front row and the back row, which is the same for enemy parties. Attacks and abilities target either the front row, back row, or both simultaneously. However, players cannot specify individual enemy targets, relying on the inherent front or back row preferences of moves. Combined with the stance-changing mechanic, this offers engaging gameplay depth.

To add more depth to the gameplay, Knightingale incorporates a traditional rock-paper-scissors elemental system. Each hero possesses their own elemental affinities, which can result in bonuses or penalties based on the enemy they face.

The game provides convenient features such as fast-forwarding and automated battles, which are unlocked early on. These options cater to players who prefer a more idle gameplay style. However, the developers could further double down on this accessibility feature by introducing an autopilot system “go-to objective” option during exploration phases, which currently require manual navigation.

It's worth noting that Knightingale is a free-to-play live service mobile game, subject to gacha mechanics and in-app purchases. While the closed beta test is currently underway only focusing on gameplay and story without in-app purchases, the final model of the game remains to be seen. I hope the developers strike a balance that ensures an enjoyable experience for free-to-play players.

On to the polishing side of things, the closed beta version of Knightingale reveals some barebones aspects, including UI bugs and a lack of quality-of-life features. The game only currently runs in a 16:9 screen aspect ratio that results in black bars on most mobile phones, and there are instances where the minimap fails to function properly, displaying a static image. Additionally, the positioning of the joystick slightly higher than usual leads to frustrations with movement controls. Unfortunately, there is currently no option to customize its position. However, players do have the alternative of using the touch screen control mode, allowing characters to move based on the player's touch input.

Conclusion:

Knightingale presents a familiar yet captivating experience within the realm of JRPGs. It combines a beautiful soundtrack, turn-based combat, narrative-driven gameplay, Japanese voice acting, and an anime-inspired art style. While the closed beta version exhibits some rough edges and missing features, the game shows potential. With further refinements and attention to player feedback, Knightingale has the potential to be a compelling mobile JRPG for both free-to-play and premium players alike.

Mentioned games

Knightingale

6.8

Pixel GraphicsStrategyTurn-basedJRPGSingleplayer

Get

Comments

skaront

I had a lot of bug problems which didn't let me enjoy the story itself well and the little and nothing I could prove being that the style of the game is my favorite I loved it, I can't wait anymore More than officially coming out

2023-07-21

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JRPG that could have been.. - Knightingale CBT review

I would be super happy with this one, but let's review it today. We are looking at a game called Knightingale. Summary: a JRPG mobile game with rogue-like elements featuring a perfect blend of classic pixel elements and stunning medieval fantasy art style. It tells the story of a young boy who meets an elf, and together, they embark on unknown adventures, make new friends, and gradually grow into knights of the elves.

IndieVoice2K2023-07-14